Stacey Souther is a Professor of Psychology at Cuyahoga Community College and presented at Lilly Conference 2022 on “Faculty Wellness: The Importance of Personal Transformation.” Souther is a college-wide faculty development coordinator and their session focused on discussing the importance of personal health and wellness and techniques that we can use and incorporate into daily routines. Souther defined wellness using the WHO/Miller 2021’s definition as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The dimensions of wellness are: emotional, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, occupation, and financial. Souther shared research on how faculty wellness is important for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), developing responsive curricula, and enhancing teaching and problem-solving experiences. Also, faculty wellness, according to Souther, is related to teaching effectiveness and student achievement. Souther then shared three techniques faculty can implement chair yoga, journaling, and guided meditation. I may be doing two out of these three.
Chair yoga is “sitting yoga poses or yoga stretches using a chair.” Souther explained that it is available for all levels of experience and has numerous health benefits. These benefits include flexibility, increased self-awareness, reduced stress, improved pain management skills, and better sleep. Souther played a short YouTube video demonstrating chair yoga practice. Next, Shouther explained the use of journaling as meditation. You can use prompts, apps, and even “take a mindful moment before writing.” The prompt Souther shared was “what has been going well in my life lately” and suggested taking five minutes and three deep breaths. For guided meditation, Souther recommended focused attention, relaxed breathing, and open OR. Souther does this one with students; though I am not sure I would do the same with students, I do listen to calm.com every day. The guided meditation session was really relaxing! Deep breaths are especially welcome as I tested COVID positive today and began treatment.
